Alumni Association

Outstanding Service Awards

In tribute to and appreciation for the memory, life and heroism of Detective Keith Dressel, the Owens Community College Alumni Association established the Detective Keith Dressel Memorial Endowment Scholarship in 2007.

The Scholarship is awarded annually to an Owens student who has the courage to become a police officer and embodies the passion, conviction and perseverance demonstrated by Detective Dressel during his career.

The Owens Community College Alumni Association is pleased to award the Detective Keith Dressel Memorial Scholarship to Joshua Pettit.

Joshua Pettit has that passion and conviction. Pettit is a full-time Owens student, having enrolled as a criminal justice major in Fall 2011, after graduating from Penta Career Center with a Peace Officer Training Academy certificate.

Since he was young, Pettit has wanted to become a police officer, specifically a drug enforcement agent. He explains that even as a young child “something about being involved in and protecting the community caught my eye.” He is a strong proponent of community policing and believes that the more a department is involved in community policing the stronger the community will be. Pettit wants not only to understand why people engage in criminal behavior, but also how law enforcement officers can help them to turn their lives around.

Pettit is deeply involved in the community. He is a member of the Landscape Club at Owens. An Eagle Scout, Pettit enjoys teaching younger scouts camping skills and volunteers to assist other scouts with their Eagle projects. He is a volunteer with the Wood County Sheriff’s Office Explorers group, working at various events and festivals to park cars, fingerprint children and more. He has participated in numerous competitions involving CPR, ticket writing, crash investigation, hostage negotiation and many other scenarios. Pettit says “The Explorers Post helps me learn the same thing that every day police officers learn. The only difference, I’m not a police officer yet.”

Following graduation from Owens, Pettit plans to transfer to Tiffin University to earn his bachelor’s degree before finding employment as a law enforcement officer. Eventually he plans to earn a master’s degree and then hopefully to work for the Drug Enforcement Agency. “I want to make a difference in the world and what better way to do that than by becoming a police officer,” said Pettit.